Aa! Megami-sama (often rendered “Oh My Goddess!” in English adaptations, was an immensely popular manga series by Kosuke Fujishima, beginning in September 1988 and running nearly twenty-six years before taking a final bow in July 2014 (48 tankobon volumes!) The first anime version was an OVA by AIC, released in five episodes in 1993-94: this was quickly licensed in North America in both dubbed and subtitled VHS volumes.

Hiroaki Gohda directed and Hidenori Matsubara handled character design and overall animation direction. A veteran of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Bubblegum Crisis, AMG was this artist’s break-out project; he later strengthened his reputation as character designer for Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. The three goddesses were memorably voiced by Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy), Yumi Touma (Urd), and Aya Hisakawa (Skuld), who also were featured in a series of albums performing as the “Goddess Family Club”

The AMG movie followed in 2000, with Gohda and Matsubara reprising their roles and the three goddesses portrayed again by Inoue, Touma, and Hisakawa. This anime film, one of the last to use cel-based technology, holds a special place in many North American fans, and art from it has always been much desired and cherished by its collectors.

I certainly remember the first time I was able to snag a Belldandy cel, and while my collection is not a large one, it remains a special one for me, as the OVA was the first anime series that I ever watched seriously, and I engaged with the characters at once.